Is photography school a good idea?
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>>2830937
It depends.
depends what kind of person you are, what your goals are.
if you have been self-motivated and self-disciplined enough in the past to get out there and learn / produce something, you probably don't need to go, all the information in the world is available for free online.
if you only really make stuff / learn when you are forced to (like me), and want a dope portfolio and good contacts in photography, then school is a great choice!
>>2830937
No, you'd be better off dumping that 10-50 grand into gear, books, dvds, studio space rental and paying for a makeup artist and for paid models.
You'll end up with a far better portfolio and more equipment and probably know more too (if you actually buy the right training stuff and actually read/watch it)
The one and only situation I could see school being the better value was if you were getting big scholarship or financial aid (from military, etc.) since that kind of money is only available for schooling.
>>2830937
only if you're going to art center or SVA
No.
Spend a small portion of that money on equipment, FF body 24-70, 70-200 and some sort of ultrawide, dump the rest into travel and go see the world.
90% of photography is being in the right place at the right time with a camera, the rest is gearfaggotry, image processing, and theory.
>>2831032
>how to have no money and no income
Worst career advice in history, m8. You must be a Bernie cuck.
going to photography school is not a good idea
going to school and doing photography is a good idea
going to school is an alright idea
photography is good
in other words you should either take community college photo classes, take marketing classes, or just skip everything and shoot if you're good enough to make a career
It's okay if you're going there for personal enrichment. Like, I want to learn something, and then you go learn it.
If you think a photography degree will get you a photography job, um.. lol.
>>2831027
Basically this, and add the caveat that you better have a scholarship. Academy of Art (NOT ART ACADEMY) is also a somewhat viable option.
I got offered a full ride at ArtCenter a few years back and turned it down because my exgf didn't get in. I'm such a fucking idiot.
>all of these hobbyists trying to make career decisions for people
I've seen my fair share of successful photographers with Communication Arts, Art Studies, Film Studies and Business Administration degrees.
In my opinion some kind of formal education on arts is a valuable investment if you can not go broke from it and jeopardize your gear and travel investment.
>>2831070
>Spending thousands of dollars on an art degree is a good idea
I can tell how old you are.
>>2831053
what did it take you to score that full scholarship man
I'm an international student looking at studying photography in the US, what advice would you guys give me regarding scholarship opportunities, financial aids and portfolio building? would love to hear your opinions.
>>2831099
Really? How old am I?
youtube
>>2830974
This is the correct answer to your question OP.
>>2831115
can confirm. graduating in three days.
holy shit, why are you all egging him into this?
OP: DO NOT DO IT! For the love of all that is holy, do not do it.
I went for a film degree a few years back, and while I work in film and make a decent chunk of change in NYC, the degree itself is absolutely worthless. You can easily get the one major benefit of the film or photography programs (connections) by just going to a liberal arts college with a good program, studying something marginally more useful but not too intensive (such as business, entrepreneurship, even psychology or sociology, as those classes will benefit you 1,000x more than any photography classes), and then making friends and doing work with the suckers in the photography programs.
Doing this will give you the best of both worlds. Even with a meme degree like Business or Marketing, they at least have some marginal value, unlike a pure arts degree, where the merit is in the portfolio. The classes will not make you a better photographer, going out as a second shooter or hanging out with friends who are studying photography will. And you can always minor in photography and get classes as well, or just take a class in it every other semester to fill credits and talk to the professors.
Also keep in mind, in many colleges if you're subtle, you could literally walk into lectures that you're not enrolled in and the professors either won't notice or won't mind. they get paid either way. You could even walk into a Yale classroom and if its a large lecture the professor will very likely not notice you. and if they do? who gives a shit, you just say "oh sorry, wrong class", or nothing at all, and walk out.
TL;DR: you do not need to waste the insurmountably valuable piece of paper by majoring in photography. major in something that will help your photography career, like business, and build your portfolio and make friends/work with/network with other photographers.
>>2831104
not that guy but generally speaking schools like Art Center and SVA don't offer much in terms of scholarship opportunities for photography because the department itself doesn't have money to give away. now if it was a major like transportation design or graphics, those departments have corporate sponsors and are more likely to offer assistance however only the absolute best and brightest will get it. best of luck to you m8
>>2831037
>having photography as a career
top kek
and you call the retard tripfag a commie cunt
no one but you would be stupid enough to think this
photography is a hobby for the wealthy and idle
it's an occupation that will be increasingly difficult to get good money from in the years to come as all of the technique will become irrelevant and real money will go only to the truly exceptional few
don't have the monopoly on taking pictures anymore faggot, now that some grandma can do it with her phone or will pay her faggy grandson peanuts to do the same thing you would charge 10x more for
people don't give a shit about iq
only pixel peeping faggot photographers do
it's a dead occupation
will go mostly the way of accountants
call center employees
programmers
taxi drivers
>>2831032
this is rich
>>2831320
on point. photography as an occupation is for the privileged few
I go to a major arts school as a photo major. Its fun but also kind of sucks, the classes suck and the work they make you do is fucking stupid. But I am happy because I learned how to light properly and I can use equipment I could in no way afford if I didn't go, also I got an internship with a well established photographer. As a matter of fact, I saw Peter Hurley walking down the street a block from campus, go figure.
Anyway, it is a lot of fun but may not be worth it to everyone.
>>2832309
But Peter Hurley is just some commercial hack and you can earn your way into his inner circle just through self-marketing and Facebook savvy.
Learn how to retouch instead.
>>2832321
i retouched ur mum, m8.
>>2832325
...dad, you're drunk again.
>>2832321
Is there much money in that? I went through all those classes at college, seems like even a pleb could do it.
>>2832338
I'm a good photographer, but mediocre at post-processing, especially when it gets really in-depth. And honestly, I have zero interest in improving my post-processing skills, because I hate sitting at my computer for hours on end doing mindless photo processing.
There is definitely a need for retouchers. Although there are people that will do some pretty amazing stuff for dirt cheap. Look at fiverr.com.
>>2831104
Ugh, surprisingly not even that much. I'd been doing pro photography part-time for a while and just submitted my port.
It's fucking stupid, man. I wasn't even intending on going, my ex was the one who wanted to. She was an illustrator and super stoked on ArtCenter, and I submitted my stuff on a whim since I thought going to school together might be fun. We went in a month or so after submission, toured the school, and her mom even flew out for it. Got to our port review meetings, I got my offer, and then came out to find her on the verge of smashing the office. She actually got refused entry at all with her port and I got offered a scholarship.
I didn't even tell her about the scholarship at that point, just that I got accepted. I never went because I didn't want to move 500mi (we lived in NorCal) and break up with her. Naturally I ended up breaking up with her a few years later anyway, and now I'm sitting on my ass at my parents' house like 10 mins from ArtCenter wishing I'd taken the offer. I wonder if I should apply again...
>>2831104
Art center if I recall offers full scholarships if your portfolio is impressiveIt. Go to Pratt if youre a international student the photo program is pretty good
>>2831037
>not knowing Sugar is a southern hick
>calling him a Bernie cuck
I don't know who's stupider at this point, you or him.
Fashion photography student at top university here. DONT DO IT!!!!! Fucking waste of money, you will pay for someone to crush your dreams.
I am not saying no one makes it, I am just saying that the ones that do make it would have made it anyway. You will get there and your self confidence will turn to shit when confronted with the massive financial fuck up you just made.
Spend that money opening a wee studio in someones garage and shoot there everyday instead, you will learn more. The rest of the time study some other marketable skill at uni, maybe something in the arts but more comercial that you could relate to your photographic practice in the future.
If you want it I can give you the link to my Evernote notebook with pictures and notes of my lectures. It really is nothing you cannot find in a library on your own. I understand paying for education with difficult subjects where you truly need guidance but not in photography. A few technical courses about studio lighting is all you need, from there on no one can make you a better photographer and please don't even bother thinking you will make contacts. All they will tell you is how to contact agents and what Magazines are good for internships. I can tell you that now and you don't have to pay me £10k a year for it.
I took a film photography class at my college. i can't comment on a full fledged photography school. but that class was worth it. my professor was really strict and a little crazy but that helped me improve a lot. i really miss developing and printing too
>>2833052
>Spend that money opening a wee studio
Not everyone wants to shoot gross fetish pron.
Sheesh.
>>2830937
no. if you want to learn from others while practicing the best you can do is to become assistant for some photogrpaher.
Can't exactly comment on photography school, but I did go to music school so kind of similar. If you live in a country that pays student benefits, then going is mostly a good idea. Though at least here (I live in northern Europe) the schools have rather difficult entrance exams and only accept a few students a year, so it's not really a matter of just "going". Anyway, I learned a lot and got much more freelance work after school. Didn't become a full time job though, so I went back to school for a different, "realistic" degree.
If you live in e.g. the US, where you have to pay for school, I would never go. You'll just end up with a ton of debt.
Also I gotta say, school can really destroy your passion and motivation. Chances are you'll be studying with people that are really fucking good to begin with, and only become more excellent while there.
